Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The burial of former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, has been fixed for September 13, 2018.
Spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tope Adeleye Elias-Fatile, disclosed the burial rites in a statement made available to Saturday Sun, in Abuja.
Annan, the Seventh UN Secretary-General, passed away peacefully on Saturday, August 18, 2018, in Switzerland, after a brief illness.
Aged 80, Annan who served as Secretary-General of the UN from January 1997 to December 2006, was the Chairman and Founder of the Kofi Annan Foundation.
Annan was also the Chairman of The Elders, an international organisation founded by Nelson Mandela.
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Elias-Fatile said: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, has received information from our High Commission in Accra, Ghana on the under-listed programme of activities for the State Burial of late Mr. Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, as received from the host Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration: a) Monday, 10th September, 2018, at 1600 hours: Arrival of the remains at the Jubilee Lounge, Kotoka International Airport (KIA), Accra; b) Tuesday, 11th September, 2018, from 1000 to 1600 hours: Filing past by the general public at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC); c) Wednesday, 12th September, 2018, from 1000 to 1600 hours: Filing past by government officials of Ghana, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, other dignitaries and traditional leaders; d) Thursday, 13th September, 2018, from 0730 to 0830 hours: Filing past by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and visiting Heads of State, to be followed by: A funeral service at the Accra International Conference Centre, 0900 to 1100 hours and a private burial at the Military Cemetery with full military honours and 17-gun salutes.”
In his tribute to Annan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the former UN Secretary General was “a celebrated diplomat and global statesman who made a significant contribution in the humanitarian and human development fields.”
“Indeed, with his death, the world has lost a passionate advocate for peace, justice and social development and Africa has lost an illustrious son,” Onyeama earlier said.